Ligaments, tendons, and other soft tissue are routinely secured in place by surgical suture attached to a suture anchor implanted in a patient. Two types of suture anchors are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,037,422 and 5,100,417, incorporated herein by reference. These suture anchors are currently sold as TAG.TM. Rod-Style and Wedge-Style anchors by Acufex Microsurgical, Inc., of Mansfield, Mass., a subsidiary of American Cyanamid Company, Wayne, N.J.
Each suture anchor is implanted using an appropriate driver. The Rod-Style anchor snap-fits directly onto a distal post of a driver. The Wedge-Style anchor has an inner cavity which receives a rounded distal tip of a driver.
Another type of suture anchor, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,207,679, has a plurality of elastically deformable barbs. A driver for this anchor has a central bore surrounded by a plurality of longitudinally-extending stainless steel projections. During use, the anchor is inserted into the bore, and the projections frictionally engage the outer surface of the anchor. A similar driver is sold as the Mini GII Inserter, Catalog No. 212069, by Mitek Surgical Products, Inc., Norwood, Mass. The Mini GII Inserter has a cylindrical plastic tip which is rotatably but nonremovably attached to a metal shaft of a central bore surrounded by four longitudinal finger-like projections which frictionally engage the anchor.
A number of suture anchors are supplied to surgeons without suture secured thereto to enable each surgeon to select an appropriate absorbable or non-absorbable suture for a particular surgical application. An opening in the anchor must be aligned with the selected suture, and the suture then is passed through the opening. Manipulation of the anchor relative to the suture becomes increasingly difficult for smaller-sized anchors.
Further, contact with the anchor itself should be minimized after sterilization to preserve sterility. Attempting to thread a suture through the anchor and to load the anchor onto a driver may presently result in dropping the anchor or otherwise provide opportunities for inadvertent contamination of the anchor. Mishandling of a suture anchor could also result in breakage of the anchor.